Problem-solving best practices for sys admins

Debugging for Admins

Author(s): Juliet Kemp

Whether you’re the sys admin of a home network or of a company-wide network of dozens or even hundreds of machines, some basic principles of debugging will come in handy.

Sometimes you’re faced with a brand new system administration problem that you’ve never met before; sometimes it’s an old problem with a new twist. Either way, and regardless of how many machines fall within your sphere of responsibility, just keep a basic set of ideas and processes in mind when you’re tracking that mysterious bug through a maze of twisty error messages.